Hey Family,
Its P-day which means we survived another week here in Tavira. It was actually a really good week by my standards so we´re doing alright.
Things seemed to go like they normally do, except for the fact that we are finding more potential investigators. Normally, Elder Torgersen and i are a little hesitant to go find new people because its really tough in this area, but we actually had some success this week. It seemed like every time we went knocking doors we found something that gave us a little bit of hope. It was actually kind of funny because every time something like that happened Elder Torgersen would turn to me after and say, "this normally doesn´t happen here Elder". But two weeks of stuff like that happening, i´d say that things have changed! We did have some disappointments this week though. We found this guy who wasn´t interested at all, but after Elder Torgersen talked to him for a bit he opened up and let us say a prayer. He said he didn´t believe in God but let us say a prayer and told us we could come back. But when we went back with the branch president, he wasn´t so kind. To make a 45 minute non-bible, "bible bashing" story short, he argued with us and the branch president, or to be more correct, Elder Torgersen and the branch president. I didn´t get in the middle with them because i haven´t had much experience with bible bashing and i was doing my best to keep up with the guys weird theories. I did jump in and helped end the discussion once it reached the 40 minute mark, but by then the damage had already been done. We had already made a huge scene in the middle of the street that most of the neighbors saw. I felt bad for not helping more or stopping the incident sooner but i think i felt worse because the whole thing made us look like Jehova´s witnesses. It was a rough experience but we´ve gotten over it and moved on. We also had a few people that we have talked to lie to us and hide from us, but other than that, life´s good. Things are looking up here so i cant complain. We even had two inactive and two non members in church yesterday, which hadn´t happened in a long time so we´re starting to see some miracles.
In other news, Elder Torgersen and i were called as councilors in the branch Presidency yesterday. Well, we weren´t really called, but the branch president told everyone in sacrament meeting that we were his councilors so i guess that works.
This week we also went and worked close to Spain on Thursday. It was a really cool experience to look across the river and see Spain. We even talked to a few Spanish people this week, which just strengthened my opinion that Spanish is just drunken Portuguese. But every time we go there, or try to go there something bad happens. Last week we tried to go there but got on the wrong train so we didnt end up going, but this week we were more careful and got on the right one. It seemed like everything was going according to plan, until we realized we had forgot our cell phone. So, we ended up having almost all of our appointments fall through because we couldn´t call anyone and confirm. But we did end up teaching an inactive member which turned out to be a really good lesson. He invited someone he works with to talk to us, which was a surprise because he didnt tell us he was going to do that. We taught both of them about the restoration and everything ran smoothly. Halfway through the lesson i realized how fluidly i was speaking and how easily the words were coming to me. The spirit was really strong in that lesson, which was really important because the lady our member had invited wasn´t too open to change. I hadn´t taught a lesson like that in a long time so it really left a lasting impression on me. Then, after the lesson, the member took us back into the garage area where he works and showed us the fish that he sells people. It was the first time in my life i saw a fish that weighed 35 pounds.
Its P-day which means we survived another week here in Tavira. It was actually a really good week by my standards so we´re doing alright.
Things seemed to go like they normally do, except for the fact that we are finding more potential investigators. Normally, Elder Torgersen and i are a little hesitant to go find new people because its really tough in this area, but we actually had some success this week. It seemed like every time we went knocking doors we found something that gave us a little bit of hope. It was actually kind of funny because every time something like that happened Elder Torgersen would turn to me after and say, "this normally doesn´t happen here Elder". But two weeks of stuff like that happening, i´d say that things have changed! We did have some disappointments this week though. We found this guy who wasn´t interested at all, but after Elder Torgersen talked to him for a bit he opened up and let us say a prayer. He said he didn´t believe in God but let us say a prayer and told us we could come back. But when we went back with the branch president, he wasn´t so kind. To make a 45 minute non-bible, "bible bashing" story short, he argued with us and the branch president, or to be more correct, Elder Torgersen and the branch president. I didn´t get in the middle with them because i haven´t had much experience with bible bashing and i was doing my best to keep up with the guys weird theories. I did jump in and helped end the discussion once it reached the 40 minute mark, but by then the damage had already been done. We had already made a huge scene in the middle of the street that most of the neighbors saw. I felt bad for not helping more or stopping the incident sooner but i think i felt worse because the whole thing made us look like Jehova´s witnesses. It was a rough experience but we´ve gotten over it and moved on. We also had a few people that we have talked to lie to us and hide from us, but other than that, life´s good. Things are looking up here so i cant complain. We even had two inactive and two non members in church yesterday, which hadn´t happened in a long time so we´re starting to see some miracles.
In other news, Elder Torgersen and i were called as councilors in the branch Presidency yesterday. Well, we weren´t really called, but the branch president told everyone in sacrament meeting that we were his councilors so i guess that works.
This week we also went and worked close to Spain on Thursday. It was a really cool experience to look across the river and see Spain. We even talked to a few Spanish people this week, which just strengthened my opinion that Spanish is just drunken Portuguese. But every time we go there, or try to go there something bad happens. Last week we tried to go there but got on the wrong train so we didnt end up going, but this week we were more careful and got on the right one. It seemed like everything was going according to plan, until we realized we had forgot our cell phone. So, we ended up having almost all of our appointments fall through because we couldn´t call anyone and confirm. But we did end up teaching an inactive member which turned out to be a really good lesson. He invited someone he works with to talk to us, which was a surprise because he didnt tell us he was going to do that. We taught both of them about the restoration and everything ran smoothly. Halfway through the lesson i realized how fluidly i was speaking and how easily the words were coming to me. The spirit was really strong in that lesson, which was really important because the lady our member had invited wasn´t too open to change. I hadn´t taught a lesson like that in a long time so it really left a lasting impression on me. Then, after the lesson, the member took us back into the garage area where he works and showed us the fish that he sells people. It was the first time in my life i saw a fish that weighed 35 pounds.
I also discovered last week that my spider bites seem to have disappeared. But unfortunately the mosquitoes have now taken a liking to me. I think in the last week i have been bitten over 15 times and its really starting to get annoying. But the good thing is i found the anti itch cream that mom put in my first aid kit so i´ve been able to take care of them(thanks mom!). I just wish i would have known that i had that stuff when i was in Setúbal.
As for mom´s question about Zone conference, here in the Algarve, President Torgan always comes do to us because it costs 40€ to go to Lisbon and back for just one missionary. But there has been a change in Zone conferences and interviews so now we will only have interviews 4 times a year and zone conference every once in a while. That means that i wont be getting mail as often and i also wont be able to see other missionaries from the rest of the mission for a while either. Its a little sad but it will save the church a lot of money. And i know when my next zone conference will be so i know when i will get my mail and stuff. It´ll be the 11th of September so it´ll be another 2 weeks before i get anything you guys might have sent me.
And i remember that mom said that someone saw Ryan Hutten somewhere and he said hi. And if i remember correctly someone wanted to know who he is. He was in the band with me at IF and we hung out every once in awhile after band stuff. He´s a really funny kid who has a lot of member friends but some how isn´t a member. If i´m not mistaken right now he´s going to the U of I. So if you guys see him again, tell him i say "óla".
Tell mom my camera is fine and i´m doing good on memory space on my card. Some times Elders laugh when they see my huge camera but the jokes on them because they´re the ones who always get robbed.
Tell mom my camera is fine and i´m doing good on memory space on my card. Some times Elders laugh when they see my huge camera but the jokes on them because they´re the ones who always get robbed.
Well, i better get back to mission life. Enjoy the new School year because you can be sure i´ll be enjoying my eternal summer here in the Algarve! Obrigado por tudo! Eu amo vocês!
Com amor,
Élder Haws
P.S. tell mikey that brazilians speak incorrect portuguese and they know it!
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